Ahead of the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, Alex de Minaur has been sighted training with outgoing legend Rafael Nadal, hinting positive news for the pair.
De Minaur recently arrived in Spain after suffering three defeats amid his maiden Nitto ATP Finals campaign in Turin, wincing in pain during his last round-robin fixture against Taylor Fritz.
A torn cartilage in the hip area forced the Aussie to withdraw from Wimbledon in July, as well as skip the Davis Cup group stage qualifiers in September.
Team captain Lleyton Hewitt decided to take no chances concerning de Minaur's injury, instead calling up Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell, Thanasi Kokkinakis and doubles specialist Matthew Ebden.
However, changes to the five-man squad are still permitted up until the final day, providing de Minaur with time to prove his fitness.
At one of the training centres in Málaga, the 25-year-old reportedly tested himself with an intense session as he hit with 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.
Nadal announced last month that the Davis Cup would act as his swansong for retirement, having suffered multiple injuries throughout the back end of his career.
The former world No.1 has been pain-free over the past weeks, signalling a potential appearance in the singles for Spain against the Dutch on Wednesday morning.
Australia commences its Davis Cup Finals campaign when they face the USA on Thursday at 8pm AEDT to be broadcast live on 9Gem and 9Now - accompanied by commentary with The First Serve host Brett Phillips and former world No.4 Jelena Dokic.
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